Podcast Summary: The JTrain Podcast – “My Husband Started Using Military Time & Changing My Name For TSA Pre – TICKED OFF TUESDAY”
Host: Jared Freid
Date: February 3, 2026
Main Theme
This Ticked Off Tuesday episode is a classic JTrain experience, with Jared Freid reading and riffing on listener complaints about everyday annoyances, with a focus on social etiquette, relationship hurdles, and post-grad frustrations. This episode’s topics range from weed smoke in public spaces, name changes after marriage, dealing with society’s breakdowns during minor crises, to a truly bizarre gripe about a new dad adopting military time.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Jared’s Trio of Personal Complaints (00:00–25:45)
a. Weed Smoking Outside Restaurants (01:50)
- Jared reflects on the growing normalization of public weed smoking in comparison to how cigarettes are vilified.
- Quote:
“I just didn’t see it going this way. I didn’t think everyone would be, you know, puff the Magic Dragoning all over the place, blowing it like they’re at a Turkish bazaar.” (03:44) - Advocates for designated smoking areas for weed, similar to cigarettes, out of respect for diners and public spaces.
b. Poor Etiquette at Counter-Service Cafés (07:55)
- Describes his affection for a local café, Pura Vida, and frustration with out-of-town customers who block the counter while undecided.
- Quote:
“It’s like seeing a line at the bathroom and then sitting your ass down the toilet and going, ah, let’s take out the phone. Just have a little awareness.” (10:50)
c. Comedians Complaining on Threads—Reflection on Social Media Etiquette (13:40)
- Jared shares cynicism toward the way comedians air professional grievances publicly on Threads (Instagram’s Twitter alternative).
- Critiques how performative outrage and “piling on” famous figures like Whitney Cummings ultimately distracts from real creative work.
- Quote:
“You’re gonna hammer some comic because they made a mistake or they did… It is wild to see how outlandish people get with hammering someone and they believe that it’s bold, but it’s actually the safest place they could ever do it. It isn’t bold. It isn’t a hot take.” (20:37)
2. Listener Complaints & Jared’s Replies (27:00–1:09:30)
a. Societal Breakdown at the Slightest Crisis (Storm Panic & Airport Chaos) (27:00)
- A listener laments how snowstorms lead people to hoard groceries, exposing how fragile social norms are.
- Jared muses on how society’s “thin veneer” would evaporate in a real catastrophe, sharing a recent airport system failure as a microcosm.
- Quote:
“If an alien landed here, I think we’d all just start tearing each other’s faces off… The alien wouldn’t even get a chance to speak.” (32:42)
b. The Annoyance of Flaky Networking Contacts (36:25)
- Listener’s complaint: a setup for a professional video call is canceled for tech reasons and rescheduled two weeks out.
- Jared relates, venting about how people inflate their own importance by stonewalling simple requests for brief chats.
- Shares a cringe story about being introduced, via his mother’s pushy friend, to the mother of an SNL writer at his grandmother’s shiva (Jewish funeral gathering)—a networking cringe of epic proportions.
- Quote:
“You end up running into train tracks and getting hit by a slow moving train called embarrassment.” (49:11)
c. Changing Your Name for Marriage = TSA Pre-Check Hell (55:12)
- Listener recounts the bureaucratic nightmare of updating her name post-marriage, primarily with TSA PreCheck, which requires new documents and visits to government offices.
- Jared sees this as a real-world example of systemic gendered bureaucracy.
- Quote:
“This is the patriarchy. The fact that this has not been made into a more simple and streamlined process is crazy because I’ve heard of this before. It’s insane.” (57:25) - Puts into perspective women’s “real world” inequities versus oft-cited wage gap narratives.
d. The Dad Who Suddenly Uses Military Time for Baby Care (1:04:12)
- Listener: After ten years together, her husband begins recording newborn diaper changes in military time—no military background—forcing her, sleep-deprived, to do math.
- Jared is baffled and appalled, arguing any major procedural/life change during newborn chaos is grounds for relationship probation.
- Quote:
“You’re choosing now, at our most vulnerable point in our lives, to make a switch? Any switch done within the first week of a newborn baby is offensive.” (1:06:29) - Hypothesizes the husband might be emulating hospital staff, craving efficiency in a moment of chaos.
Notable Quotes & Moments
- “Weed is like — with a cigarette, we vilified them to the point where it’s probably gone over the edge. And then we have kind of protected the weed smoke in the area, in the towns that allow weed smoke.” (03:05)
- “If you pick up the menu, the move...is to pull off to the left. Say, ‘Hey, Mr. Sir, hey Chubby, you want to go order first?’” (09:40)
- “The distraction of talking badly about comedy topics online is you not writing, not performing, not networking. And I guess you could say it’s networking… but with other miseries.” (18:51)
- “Do you think this is a good use of time?... It isn’t bold. It isn’t a hot take… It isn’t even a risk.” (20:51)
- “All roads would be blocked and you’d be crushed under the masses of people who are all looking to the sky.” (34:26)
- “Changing my name on my license and passport and my TSA Pre has all is… is costing me money, I would go, yeah, you got me. I’m in. Put me at the head of the march. This would drive me absolutely insane.” (58:33)
- “Any of those things—now is not the time. We have a new baby. We don’t know how to do anything. ... Are you kidding me? Are you out of your mind? Now you’re making changes?” (1:06:39)
Timestamps of Key Segments
- Weed Smoking Complaint: 01:50–07:55
- Café Etiquette: 07:55–13:40
- Social Media/Threads Rant: 13:40–25:45
- Listener Complaint – Society Breaking Down: 27:00–36:25
- Networking Complaints: 36:25–55:12
- Name Change & TSA Pre-Check: 55:12–1:04:12
- Military Time Baby Tracking: 1:04:12–1:09:30
Tone and Style
Jared Freid brings his signature blend of exasperation, humor, and solidarity to listener grievances, often finding a way to relate—even via embarrassing personal anecdotes. He’s colloquial, self-deprecating, and forthright, never shying from poking fun at himself or “the system,” all while validating his listeners’ everyday sorrows.
